Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 4

Tuesday

Apr 30, 2013 at 1:27 PM

What was created as a promotional effort for the comic book industry has become an institution.

By Brian TuckerStarNews Correspondent

What was created as a promotional effort for the comic book industry has become an institution.Free Comic Book Day lands at local comic book shops on Saturday. Held on the first Saturday of May every year since its inception in 2002, people can visit a local comic book shop and pick through a variety of free titles, ranging from those for kids to those for teenagers and adults.Movie studios were quick to capitalize on Free Comic Book Day, and the release of a number of superhero movies have coincided with the event, including three "Spider-Man" movies, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," "Thor," "The Avengers" and the first two "Iron Man" movies. "Spider-Man" was released May 3, 2002, and likely helped FCBD get a much bigger start. This year, the Port-City-filmed "Iron Man 3" will be released the day before Free Comic Day.Local comic shops Fanboy Comics, 419 S. College Road in the University Landing shopping center, and Jake's Memory Lane Comics, 5725 Oleander Drive in Oleander Oaks shopping center, will be participating in FCBD and hosting activities.On Thursday, May 2, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Homewood Suites in Mayfaire, A Boxed Event and Fanboy will be hosting an "Iron Man 3" movie premiere party. There will food and music, the first two "Iron Man" films will be screened, free comics will be given away and attendees can register for prizes and meet comic book artists. Later, the party will move to Mayfaire for a 9 p.m. screening of "Iron Man 3."Tickets are $20 per person, or $35 for couples. On Saturday, Fanboy will be giving away prizes and taking part with Times Square Pizza (also in the University Landing Shopping Center) to host a kid's superhero lunch where kids can meet costumed characters like Iron Man, Batman and more. AMC's "The Walking Dead" poster artist Danny Miller will be on hand, and there will also be a raffle to help local thespian Steve Vernon with medical bills.Jake's Memory Lane will have Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads signing comic books and promoting their Image Comics series "The Activity." The series centers on a highly secret group within the U.S. Army Special Operations Unit. Also at Jake's, costumed characters will be on hand and there will be games to play and chances to win prizes.As for the comics themselves, this year looks to be a good one in terms of variety. One of the most popular titles will likely be from "The Walking Dead," but there are also titles based on the TV show "Grimm," new and older material from "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "Judge Dredd" and such stalwarts as Superman and Batman. For the young ones there will be comics from "Sesame Street," "The Smurfs" and "SpongeBob."